BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

Running toward Big Dreams

By Jordan Magaziner Steinfeld, Staff writer | August 9, 2016

Click the Buzz Me button to receive email notifications when this writer publishes a new article or a new article in this column is published.

3-year-old Bellaire resident Cate Urbani competed in the 3,000 meters in Track & Field in the AAU Junior Olympics.

While Team USA competed in Rio this past weekend, 13-year-old Bellaire resident Cate Urbani competed in the AAU Junior Olympics, held in Humble, Texas. She competed in the 3,000 meters in Track & Field and placed 15th overall in this national championship with a time of 11:41.

Cate was cheered on by her parents, Rico and Molly Urbani, her sister MaryGrace and her younger brothers Henry and Matthew. Also in attendance were her grandparents, Kathi and Bob Hooks, who traveled from Hinsdale, Ill. and Rosalie and Rico Urbani from Galveston. The Finch family from Bellaire - Robert and Allison Finch with kids Audrey, James, Caroline, Henry and Peter – were there to cheer her on too.

Cate began running with her mom and older sister when she was 6 years old. She set her mind on the AAU Junior Olympics just a few months ago. She competes in cross-country and track and also swims year-round as part of Think’n’Swim, a program that meets at Rice University.

She ran in the AAU district qualifier in June in Missouri City. She was in the top 16 and moved onto the regional qualifier and ultimately qualified for the national championships/AAU Jr. Olympics with a time of 11:39. She placed 6th among 13-year-old girls in the region.

This fall, Cate will be competing in cross-country as an eighth grader with Homeschool Christian Youth Assoc. Cate hopes to keep improving her times in both cross-country and on the track, and would like to work toward running competitively for a Division I university. Her big dream would be to run for the USA in the Olympics one day.